High-power lithium-selenium batteries enabled by atomic cobalt electrocatalyst in hollow carbon cathode.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33024100.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-18820-y and PMC identifier 7538427.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Selenium cathodes have attracted considerable attention due to high electronic conductivity and volumetric capacity comparable to sulphur cathodes. However, practical development of lithium-selenium batteries has been hindered by the low selenium reaction activity with lithium, high volume changes and rapid capacity fading caused by the shuttle effect of polyselenides. Recently, single atom catalysts have attracted extensive interests in electrochemical energy conversion and storage because of unique electronic and structural properties, maximum atom-utilization efficiency, and outstanding catalytic performances. In this work, we developed a facile route to synthesize cobalt single atoms/nitrogen-doped hollow porous carbon (Co<sub>SA</sub>-HC). The cobalt single atoms can activate selenium reactivity and immobilize selenium and polyselenides. The as-prepared selenium-carbon (Se@Co<sub>SA</sub>-HC) cathodes deliver a high discharge capacity, a superior rate capability, and excellent cycling stability with a Coulombic efficiency of ~100%. This work could open an avenue for achieving long cycle life and high-power lithium-selenium batteries.